adviser to obama 2012, david axelrod. chief foreign correspondent richard engel is here, safe and sound in studio. richard, it's great to see you in person this morning. "new york times" best-selling author of "team of rivals" doris kearns goodwin. in between awards shows she's joined us. and nbc news special correspondent tom brokaw. welcome to all of you. tom, that's where we tee it up. the president, as he begins a second term, very difficult climate in washington and very real expectations. >> yes. and i was looking at those top three priorities for the american people. and they all fit into his single most difficult task, it seems to me, both conceptually and specifically. in the next couple of years, he only has a couple of years, these are second terms and not four-year terms. you're running right up to the mid term election. there's a desperate need for the country going forward to do something about tax reforms and entitlements sitting under the umbrella of fixing the economy and creating near jobs and stopping s